Note 256 — Chapter XXXV

"The accusation thus brought might also fall upon me; and although I consider myself beyond the reach of such calumnies, I must declare, in answer to the frequent insinuations made during and even since the reign of my brother, that such an accusation is as untrue as it is inconceivable. I declare I was in no manner a partisan of the Continental System; first, because it injured Holland more than it did England, and it was the interest of Holland which concerned me most deeply; and, in the second place, because this system, though true in theory, was false in its application. I compare it to a sieve; a single hole is sufficient to render it incapable of containing any thing. The Continental System being acted upon in most countries, must have produced more beneficial results in those points where it was not maintained; and thus it was with respect to the advantages it conferred upon English commerce, mentioned by Sir Walter Scott. It was this which gave France the means of benefiting her merchants, to the injury of those of other countries, who had not the power to open and shut their ports at will. It will consequently be supposed that I could only lend myself partially, without zeal or pleasure, to the Continental System, since it was both against my own opinion and against the interest of the country, and I was convinced of its inefficacy against England; but at the same time I may declare, since all this is now a mere matter of history, that I did not hesitate to obey all that was required, with respect to the pretended blockade of England; but I repeat, that it was against my own opinion, and consequently without zeal and without pleasure."—Louis Buonaparte, p. 53.